


A Change of Heart

by banquos_ghost



Series: Mad About The Boy [8]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst and Humor, Blow Jobs, Explicit Language, F/M, Masturbation, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:21:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7485960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banquos_ghost/pseuds/banquos_ghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe Nora had judged Shaun too harshly. What if the Institute wasn't evil? What if they really were working for the greater good?  Nora's prepared to give Shaun a fair chance. He can be very persuasive. The soft beds and clean showers were just a bonus... It will take more than a few creature comforts to change MacCready's mind, but Nora can try.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Continues from part 7

The Institute may be the devil incarnate but the last time Nora had slept in a bed this clean and comfortable regularly had been over 200 years ago. She really should teleport back to Sanctuary soon. MacCready would be waiting for her. This bed though, it was just too good to leave. Just five more minutes wouldn't matter. Nora stretched luxuriantly under the smooth, crisp sheets, pleasantly tired after her bracingly hot shower. Maybe she'd been too hasty in her judgement of Shaun. Say what you like about the Institute, they certainly enjoyed levels of comfort unsurpassed in the Commonwealth. 

The next thing Nora saw was the clock by the side of the bed. She blinked sleepily at it, she must have dozed off for a moment there. Her eyes focused on the hands of the clock...nine o'clock. Nine o'fucking clock. She'd drifted off to sleep and ended up staying here all night, when she had planned on going back to MacCready at Sanctuary. A small twinge of guilt soured her enjoyment of the luxurious bed for the moment, but the guilt rapidly dispersed as she saw the steaming hot beverage that had been thoughtfully placed at the side of her bed by an unknown synth hand while she slept. She took a reflective draught, it was just the right temperature . Hmm, that was so good. Insanely good. Maybe there was time for one more shower... And then she'd go back. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.. or maybe there would even be time for another quick nap...and perhaps she could spend some time taming her hair into a nice style, while she still had access to a hairdryer. 

\--------------------------------------------------

MacCready sat in the communal eating area at Sanctuary Hills gazing into space as he contemplated his lot. It was bizarre to think that just over a year ago he'd been sitting alone in the Third Rail fretting about Barnes and Winlock. Now he had a decent life, a place to call home and a partner he loved. That was the biggest surprise of all. He'd managed to find love even though he'd sworn never to expose himself to the pain of losing a loved one again. His heart had been cold and unreceptive to Nora initially, yet somehow she'd managed to melt the protective icy barrier he'd built up. Life wasn't completely perfect, but maybe once Duncan joined them he could finally feel secure and happy.

Sometimes, just sometimes, he was a little pissed off at always playing second fiddle to Nora. It wasn't her fault, if anything she shied away from the limelight. For some reason people seemed to lean on Nora, push her into roles that she neither wanted or sought. _Some have greatness thrust upon them._ Well that certainly was the case with Nora. Where Nora stumbled into the limelight he was in her shadow, right behind her, sometimes pulling the strings, sometimes just providing the listening ear she needed to vent her frustrations to.

Another night stretched ahead. He was on good terms with most of the Sanctuary Hills crowd, and the days rolled into evenings pleasantly enough. But he was bored. As nice as it was to be surrounded by friendly faces they weren't Nora. 

Since Nora had discovered her son was an old man, in charge of the most feared entity in the Commonwealth she had changed, although MacCready was loath to admit or analyse it. There was a new hardness and a sense of purpose about her. She had started working with Shaun and the Institute, wheedling her way into his trust so that she could bring down the organisation from the inside. Most of her time was spent working away on 'Institute Business' under Shaun's direction, and MacCready felt surplus to requirements. Nora had previously directed most of her energies in his direction and if he was honest with himself he felt a little neglected. _God I'm an inconsistent bastard_ he thought. _I'm not happy when she's obsessed with me and I'm not happy when she's too distracted to notice me._

MacCready had some compensation for his woes in the form of his new found popularity with the settlers of Sanctuary Hills. He always volunteered for the guard duty graveyard shift, and he was an extremely effective deterrent. Sitting within the sniper area of the guard tower he had seen off potential threats long before they'd got close enough to the settlement to present a threat. Word had spread that even getting within binocular sight of Sanctuary Hills these days was a deadly pastime, and the settlers were enjoying unprecedented levels of tranquility. In the meantime MacCready waited out the seemingly endless days and nights for Nora to return.


	2. Air Play

MacCready perched on the chair in the sniper's nest he'd built. Eyes scanning the horizon seeing, but not seeing. No real effort. Just habit. Before the first sound of a teleport an alert observer could detect other subtle signs, and MacCready focussed on detecting these small signs. That little catch in his stomach, that barely perceptible sense of the air contorting and twisting. Electrical energy barely detectable. But it was there all you had to do was feel it. Just sit here like this clear minded and receptive. Let yourself open and be the conduit to the ripple and flux of the air as it prepared to be torn atom by atom by the nature defying magic of teleportation. 

He eyed his radio. If Travis's voice could travel through the air from Diamond City and reform in his ears.... An everyday miracle, then maybe this teleporting stuff wasn't so magic and incomprehensible after all. Shit, he really was getting maudlin if the thought of Travis sitting lonely in Diamond City was making him feel empathy for the man. Right. He really shouldn't be sitting here getting glossy eyed about Travis Miles of all people. 

MacCready sought for other distracting thoughts to fill the long, lonely hours. He fumbled in his pocket and brought out a pack of cards. Ok, if he drew a heart card then she'd be back within the number of hours equal to the face value of the card. Spades, she'd be back in the number of days denoted by the value. Diamonds, ah that wasn't a good one, that symbolised Diamond City to him. A warning Nora wouldn't teleport to Sanctuary but bypass it all together and go about her business elsewhere in the Commonwealth. _Clubs_. Best not to mention what clubs had come to symbolise, it wasn't good. He'd been through the pack and discarded the whole suit bar the ace of clubs, to cheat the odds into his favour. The worn cards slapped against each other as he shuffled them slowly. Drew one card with shaking fingers. The five of spades. Could be worse. Five days. Of course, the cards could be wrong, and frequently had been. It meant nothing. Just silly superstition, still it passed the time and sometimes allowed him to hope. 

MacCready lit another cigarette and gazed up at the stars, smoked it down and stubbed it out in the overflowing ashtray. He lit yet another cigarette. He wanted to think about Nora so why the hell did his thoughts keep turning back to that lily-livered nerd Travis? That radio constantly churning out Travis's intolerable bullshit wasn't helping. _Just shut up and play the music already, Travis._ For a shy, self-effacing man Travis sure did love the sound of his own voice. MacCready rotated the knob on the radio to the 'off' position with a satisfying clunk. Silence. Then he felt it, the energy mustering and swirling in the air around him. Maybe it was just his wishful thinking playing a trick on him. He blinked his eyes and took a deep breath to dismiss the illusion, because that's what it must be. A toxic mix of wishful thinking and lack of sleep, the same brain fever that had him feeling like a kindred spirit with fucking Travis was continuing to toy with him mercilessly. The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise and the air shimmered with electromagnetic energy. Nora was teleporting back. He couldn't be this off with his judgment. Could he?

A crackle and a flash and she was there. Standing in the middle of Sanctuary Hills. He thought it was her anyway. This dazzling figure dressed in a white lab coat and smart casual clothes was the doppelgänger of Nora yet if 'clothes make the man' then Nora's clothes were making her strange and unfamiliar to MacCready. She stood for a moment, probably recovering from the shock of the teleport, before making her way over to their house. 

MacCready hesitated. He wasn't sure why. He had waited so long for this moment, yet a strange reluctance had gripped him. He was rooted to the spot instead of shouting after Nora, and chasing her down to embrace her and welcome her back. No point analysing it. He may as well take the opportunity to compose himself. He was pretty sure that as soon as Nora had found him missing from the house she'd be looking for him around the settlement. Because she'd missed him as much as he'd missed her, right?

He peered into the semi-darkness, with that white outfit on she would be pretty easy to spot. He still hadn't spotted her though. Had she been delayed in the house? What was going on? Normally she couldn't wait to see him when she returned from the Institute. She'd cleanse herself from the filth she felt at lying to the Institute, playing the role of spy and agent provocateur by losing herself in the physicality of love making, and enjoying a reunion with her friend and lover. What could be more important to her now that she was taking her time, lingering over something. Ignoring him? Avoiding him? _Ahh come on, you're getting paranoid now. This is Nora._ There could be no doubting her need of him. Her blinkered obsession and preoccupation with him. One of the settlers was probably bending her ear about 'the bed situation' or some other trivial matter.

A mental image of Nora popped into his head. Her polite kindness to the settler, nodding and promising to sort things out. A saint. Ten minutes later she would be bemoaning the settler's helplessness to MacCready. He was her outlet, a pressure valve when the stress got too much, as it so frequently did. So why did he get the impression that he was becoming surplus to requirements? He felt a sick lurch in the pit of his stomach. He'd carried a sense of unease in him for a while. Ever since Nora had started leaving him behind when she carried out work for the Institute. The one time that he had accompanied her and her courser 'buddy' to Bunker Hill it had been horrific. He hadn't approved of sending all those poor bastard synths back to the Institute. They had looked so human, so vulnerable, begging and pleading to be spared. How could Nora, his Nora, have so callously recited their recall codes while they continued to beg and plead? He had reminded himself at the time that this was all for the greater good. Omelettes could only be made with broken eggs, and winning Shaun's trust wasn't going to be easy. The Courser had been there watching, waiting, ready to report back every nuance of Nora's behaviour to the Institute. MacCready hadn't even had the chance to talk to her after the whole sorry business. She'd gone with the Courser to report back to Shaun leaving him to walk away from the carnage whistling with his hands in his pockets. This was the first time that his sense of unease had condensed into a coherent _j'accuse_ of Nora. How could he be so disloyal? She was doing all that she could to bring down the Institute from the inside and here he was like some needy child because she wasn't hanging off him day and night anymore. She would be here any second now, and all his doubts and worries would be shown as the ridiculous night time ravings that he knew them to be. Yes, any second now she'd come running up to him demanding to know why he hadn't rushed to greet her. Any second now..


	3. This night has opened my eyes

Nora sat on the bed she shared with MacCready. The cracks in the walls had never been so unedifying. Prior to this moment she had barely noticed them. Now she couldn't take her eyes from them. She forced herself to look away, and as she did her eyes rested on the other features of the room. The concrete floor scattered with rubbish and debris. The overflowing ashtray. The tatty old mattress and threadbare furniture. The stained and yellowed sheets. She sucked air through her teeth looking around the room. Why hadn't she felt sickened by all this squalor before? What the hell had changed? The thought broke through her _this was no place for the Head of the Institute-in-waiting to be sleeping_. Shit. Why was she acting like this... had Shaun hypnotized her? No, she was clear sighted enough to realise he didn't need to. He was a master manipulator who had played her like a Stradivarius. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, maybe she was more like Shaun than she would ever care to admit. It hadn't taken her long to realise what he was up to, luring her in, pandering to her ego, tempting her with comforts and geegaws. She'd allowed it all to happen, believing that she still had the upper hand. She could walk away at any time. Walk away and leave the Institute to burn to ashes with her son inside it. Only now she realised it wasn't that easy. He was in her head, his silky arguments, his persuasion. All had eroded away at her integrity, washing over her resolve like acid rain smoothing away the fine details of a statue. She was cursed with the clear sightedness to see what he did, but still continued to allow him to do it. She had never intended to let it go this far. Shit, she still felt bad about Bunker Hill. The accusation in MacCready's eyes as he'd witnessed her callousness. Which was why she wasn't rushing to find him now. Shame. Shame and defiance, and it felt like crap. She wanted to see him so badly, so physically, so viscerally to feel his arms around her. She wanted his body, wanted the sexual release. But after... there would be an after. A time of reckoning. Maybe she could just use his body and then bugger off back to the Institute? Well, it was a thought.. Nora laughed to herself. It was funny in a sick kind of way, but really, what the hell had she become...? He was waiting for her. She knew he was. Had caught the glint from his binoculars at the guard post. He was probably making his way back to the house right now. Wondering where she had got to.

Better to face him head on. Besides she really did want to see him, feel him, relax beside him again and drop this Institute persona she'd been hiding behind. If she told herself that enough times she would make it true, dammit.

She walked out of the house, looking toward the guard tower. Now she was within moments of seeing him again, feeling him again that old feeling of excitement took hold. Butterflies whirled in her stomach and she was conscious of her heart beating. She couldn't be sure how much of it was nerves at facing him and how much of it was genuine excitement.


	4. Reunion

MacCready looked out from his tower. Dawn was breaking and Nora was walking towards him, finally. She'd taken her time. Well, two could play that game. He turned away from Sanctuary and gazed through his binoculars in the direction of Red Rocket. Let her come to him. Like the old days. He wasn't her plaything to be picked up and put down whenever she felt like it.

Nora walked to the guard tower, MacCready was silhouetted against the lightening sky, his cap and profile unmistakeable. She could sense the sulky expression on his face without even seeing it. Well, she deserved it and this was exactly why she'd been dreading seeing him again since Bunker Hill. She could teleport away from the inevitable lecture that awaited her, a quick button press on the Pip-Boy and she'd be away again. She could blame the Institute for a malfunction or _something_. Now this was ridiculous, that she was even thinking of running away from MacCready, of all people. Fuck it, if he wanted an argument bring it on... They would have to clear the air sooner or later she couldn't run for ever. 

Nora began the climb up the rickety ladder to the sniper's nest at the top of the tower. 'Mac, Mac, it's me, I'm back!'. She projected a bright tone in her voice. 

'Come on up and join me...' MacCready didn't _sound_ angry, at least. Well, not yet.

She clambered up onto the tiny platform. There was barely room for one person up here, let alone two. A small chair, a radio and a table with some books on were crammed into the claustrophobic space. MacCready was leaning against the railing, he didn't seem overly eager to greet her.

'Didn't you see me teleport back? I thought that flash and noise would have woken the dead?' 

'Yup, I saw it..' MacCready smiled weakly, 'But I couldn't leave my guard post could I?'

'That's bullshit Mac! When did you become so godamn conscientious?'

'And I'm very happy to see you too, Nora.' MacCready spoke to Nora in the sarcastic tone that had gotten him so many black eyes over the years. He was caught off guard. What was going on here? He'd been waiting so eagerly for Nora's return and now she was here he couldn't help acting like a grade 'A' asshole. He had a choice to make, continue to act like an asshole or swallow his pride and be a good little boy and accept Nora's bullshit without question. He decided to balance precariously on the fence a little longer. He said nothing and waited to take his cue from Nora.

'So...I guess I should tell you what happened after Bunker Hill...' Nora broke the ice. MacCready could see that she thought he wouldn't approve of what happened by the way she twisted the knobs on her Pip-Boy and gazed at it distractedly as if reading a script from the screen.

'No, wait.. let me tell you what happened to _me_ after Bunker Hill...' MacCready cut in, gesturing to the small seat and leaning even further into the corner of the railings to make room. Nora shuffled into the seat and continued to gaze at her Pip-Boy. 'After you and your Institute synth army caused chaos and mayhem I was left to count the bodies, smooth things over with the settlement and assure them that the so-called General of the Minutemen is on their side, really, it just looks like she's a total asshole but it's all part of a master plan and apologies for the collateral damage to the homes and businesses, so yeah, that was fun... Now tell me, did you and your Institute buddies sit round patting each other on the back for a job well done?'

'Umm well, sorry Mac, I really am... but you know, this was never going to be easy..' Nora swallowed, her throat dry as she remembered the celebrations and self congratulation back at the Institute. 'Anyway, I have news... Shaun is dying of incurable cancer..'

'My heart fuckin' bleeds...' MacCready interjected.

Nora glared at him 'He's still my son when all's said and done.'

'The son you wanted to kill with your bare hands the first time you went to the Institute. Well excuse me if I don't choke up with tears.'

'If you would let me finish... He had a big board meeting and named me as his successor. He wants me to become leader of the Institute when he dies...'

'And you respectfully declined of course...'

'Actually, I played along...'

MacCready scanned Nora's face. Now here was a woman that should never take up poker. How she managed to fool Shaun was a mystery. She couldn't hide anything from MacCready however much she tried. Her face looked so guilty it was almost comical. Despite himself he moved closer to Nora, he really wanted to touch her now. Bullshit or not he still felt protective and _other_ urges. 'What do you mean, _played along?'_. His voice was softer now, more sympathetic. 

Nora relaxed a bit at the change in MacCready's tone. Allowed herself to look away from her Pip-Boy and up at his face, 'I told him I'd do it.. told him I'd take over. It seemed to please him.'

MacCready spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper, 'Ah, but did it please you, Nora, did it please you?'

'What, no... of course not... I had no choice.. didn't want to blow our cover did I..' Nora blustered, a blush covering her cheeks. 

'And when exactly will you blow your cover? How many more dead bodies before we make our move? What about those synths you sent back... you were a bit too... convincing..'

'I err, I had no choice...' Nora's voice wobbled, tears weren't far away, MacCready knew the signs.  
He'd been looking forward so badly to seeing her, and what had he done? Made her cry...


	5. Never could get my head around all that 'Science Stuff'...

'I missed you...' MacCready squeezed into the small space behind Nora's chair and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his head bending to nuzzle into her neck.

'I missed you too...' A white lie, she may not have consciously missed him whilst luxuriating at the Institute but now he was so close, filling her senses she wanted him. 

She turned her head towards him and engaged his lips in a kiss. He smelt of smoke, leather, earthiness and settlements. Not unpleasant, but animalistic, a far cry from the sterile antiseptic environment of the Institute. Part of her recoiled from the visceral shock of the sheer humanity of him, the shock of the feelings rising in her. She broke from the kiss and looked at him in the revealing dawn light of the new day, radiating from the east and highlighting every grime filled crease on his tired face. His hands cradled hers, large and grey with dirt, calloused with hard work and even harder living. She loved him. Yes, she loved him. She felt like she had to remind herself. 

MacCready looked at Nora in the same rising daylight. He had never seen her looking so clean and fresh. She smelled different, her hair was neat and tidy, smoothed into a complicated up-do. She was still wearing her Institute lab coat, so crisp and white he could see the small grimy marks his fingers had already left dotted on the shoulders. He felt intimidated, _intimidated by Nora_. This was an alien feeling, an unpleasant side effect of all this Institute crap. 

She wanted him, wanted him though every thing felt wrong. She decided she would abandon herself to the moment. Pretend everything was just like it used to be. Simple. Before Shaun got in the way, life got in the way. Why couldn't it be like that again? It could, she just had to make it happen. Rosy eyed nostalgia wouldn't get her anywhere. Honestly, for most of their relationship she had been hankering for a distant MacCready, and things had been far from ideal. They loved each other. Everything should be perfect now. 

The sight of those finger marks on the lab coat woke MacCready up. He was filled with the urge to sully the lab coat. Run his hands all over it. To mess up Nora's hair. To make her beg for him, beg for his cock. His hands roamed the snowy expanse of the lab coat, skimming over Nora's breasts through the crisp fabric. He felt her chest starting to rise and fall with her breath in jerky inhalations. One of his hands feathered up the length of her neck before cupping her chin and tilting her head back, her hair already starting to tumble from its neat style. 

Nora forgot everything. Forgot Shaun, forgot the Institute. No room for other thoughts. Just the sensation of MacCready's kisses on her neck, his teeth scraping and catching the delicate skin. She eased back into MacCready, his kisses reaching her jaw line now, she turned slightly and met his mouth with hers. She was eager now, her mouth wet and sloppy on his. 

The guard post was pretty cramped, but Nora didn't care anymore. MacCready was relentless, his kisses dotting her jawline and neck, returning to her mouth. She pulled him closer, they ended up sitting cramped into the small chair. MacCready had somehow ended up on Nora's lap, not a problem, he wasn't a heavy man. Nora found having MacCready sat on her lap tangled in her, pulling her closer was arousing her. She desperately wanted to, needed to do more than kiss him. The position was awkward, not much room to manoeuvre. As their embrace became more heated the flimsy wooden structure creaked and groaned. 

MacCready managed to pause, and whisper hoarsely into Nora's ear... 'Maybe we should head back to the house now, it's morning and someone is going to get an eyeful when they report for guard duty.' 

Nora grunted in reply. MacCready wasn't sure if it was affirmation or a protest to remain. As he tried to decide Nora's roaming hands fumbled with the zip on his trousers. Ok, so it was a protest to remain.. 

MacCready's hips bucked as Nora eased his trousers down, releasing his cock bobbing in the morning air. Nora's hand ghosted over his shaft causing him to groan and move into her hand. She managed to extricate herself somehow from under MacCready to shimmying down in front of him. Oh God, was she really going to take him in her mouth out here where someone could be ascending the ladder to the tower right this moment? His eyes shut as he felt the warm moistness of her tongue swirling around the head of his cock. That felt so good, was so unexpected that he had to bite his lips to prevent from yelling out. The initial shock over with he opened his eyes and looked down at Nora's bobbing head. Her hair was pretty mussed up now, but there was still some semblance of the earlier ladylike style. Her lab coat was grey with grimy fingerprints, dishevelled and creased. He tangled his fingers into her hair and eased the remaining tendrils from the bobby pins holding them in place. 

He was filled with an urge to sully that lab coat further. A huge 'fuck you' to the Institute and all it represented. His thoughts became less coherent as the warm moistness surrounding him pulled him back. Nora's hand was assisting her tongue now, the pressure and friction causing explosions in his head. Behind his closed lids his eyes saw orange light as the sun shone over the roofs into the tower. He was close now, the thought of his hot cum filling Nora's mouth almost enough extra impetus to bring it about sooner rather than later. The moan that involuntarily formed from his parted lips filled his ears like a noise made by a third party. _Fuck, even his own moaning was amplifying the pressure building in him now._ It didn't help that his moaning had encouraged Nora and her mouth was fucking his cock even more vigorously. His need for physical release had built in him to almost painful levels. 

As if sensing his closeness to orgasm Nora pulled out all the stops, her mouth taking in the length of his cock, her lips tightly sealing round his shaft, her tongue tantalising him, keeping him teetering on the brink. With every fibre of his being screaming against his brain in protest MacCready carded his fingers in Nora's hair and guided her away from his cock, his own hand replacing hers on the shaft. He wanted to see her face as he came. He wanted.... well... he couldn't quite articulate coherently but he doubted she'd be wearing that lab coat back to the Institute again. Nora looked up at him with a small puzzled frown, hoping she'd understand without the need to spell it out MacCready placed Nora's hand over his cock and she knelt beside him in the confined space. 'Let me cum on your coat...' Nora cocked an eyebrow. 

Nora felt her own arousal leap at MacCready's strange request. She felt her own slickness and discomfort building. She leaned in even closer to him, the lapels of her lab coat skimming against his cock. MacCready groaned, loudly, who was she to argue with his arousal? The noises coming from his throat made Nora's other hand subconsciously ease itself into her own trousers, her hips bucking against her hand, her breath coming in jerky rasps, she started to pump MacCready's cock harder and faster. Macready's eyes didn't close, they darted from Nora's face to the grimy lab coat and back. He was so vocal now Nora felt a twinge of anxiety about settlers over hearing them, but another glimpse at MacCready soon made her forget her concerns and lose herself in the sight of his face, tilted back, eyes closed and jaw clamped as he surrendered to the pleasure building in him. Nora bucked once more against her busy hand and shuddered as she was rewarded with sweet release. Her hand paused to press down on her clit and ride the waves of aftershock for a few moments, before she focused all her attentions on MacCready.

He was still braced in the small chair, his head thrown back and his breath coming in shaky gasps. She lifted the folds of her lab coat and ghosted it over the tip of his cock. He looked down at her and met her eyes, and bit down on his lip to mask another a loud groan, but the gesture was futile, his wavering moans had probably brought questioning gazes towards the guard tower from the Sanctuary residents stirring in morning light. As Nora started to hoarsely whisper to him he bucked his hips,the cool fabric and Nora's hand became almost intolerable in the amount of pressure building in his cock and pleasure coursing through his body. Nora whispered more words of encouragement to him, begging him let fly with his cum over the lab coat. With a groan that was more redolent of acute pain than pleasure MacCready's cum shot out over the lab coat in copious amounts. Both of them remained panting for a few moments. MacCready sat shell shocked in the chair, as Nora slid the soiled lab coat down her shoulders and shimmied out of it as best she could in the cramped space. She bundled it into a compacted ball and laid it to one side. 'That's one coat that won't be making back to the Institute laundry'

'Knowing those bastards they'll send a Courser to track it down..' MacCready had sufficiently recovered enough to enjoy his own wit, and chuckled to himself, mellow and replete with post orgasmic peace. 

Nora cuddled into him, it had been a strangely satisfying way to break the stalemate between them and she smiled, happy that she would be able to make MacCready blush and smile at the mere mention of scientific regalia in the future. His often uttered protestations of never being able to get his head around science stuff would be impossible to hear in the future without a knowing smile passing between them.


	6. Either With Us or Against Us

MacCready and Nora sat at peace for a while before harsh reality started to tiptoe in. With so many things unsaid between them they couldn't relax for long. 

'So, what's the plan, General?' 

Nora huffed. She hated it when MacCready called her 'General'. And he knew it. So, he was setting out his stall for an argument already then? Or was he merely teasing her and her guilty conscience had rushed to create faux conflict as an excuse to storm off and avoid facing up to things? She'd just come straight out with it. Ask him to help her get the beryllium agitator from Mass Fusion HQ. What was the worst that could happen? She knew he'd been bored senseless here. He was a force to be reckoned with. The Institute always needed reliable people au fait with the Wasteland. And once Shaun had passed and she was the Boss then MacCready and Duncan could live with her in the Institute. If the head scientists didn't like it, tough luck. 

'I have something to ask you Mac..' 

'Sure, what is it?'

'I need you to help me do a job for the Institute, I have to retrieve a beryllium agitator from Mass Fusion... to enable them to have a reliable power supply going forwards..'

'Wait.. going forwards? I thought we were going to sabotage them, not help them expand?'

'Look do you want to help me or not?' Nora's tone was commanding, all trace of her earlier blissfully relaxed state had vanished into the ether.

'That'll be the same Mass Fusion that's overrun with Gunners and the Brotherhood of Steel? Yeah, sure sounds like a gas.' To be honest, it was better than hanging around here bored out of his skull. Even if it was assisting the Institute at least there would be no civilian casualties _this time_..

Nora sought MacCready's eyes with hers, pleadingly. She was not in the mood for an argument. She was exhausted dealing with the Institute, Minutemen, settlers. Life would be so simple if they could just be left to their own devices. 

Sighing she placed a gentle arm on MacCready's sleeve. 'Look, I'll make it easy for you. I need to go back to the Institute to prepare a few things before I go and get this beryllium activator. If you want to join me on this job I'll see you at Mass Fusion in 3 days. That should give you plenty of time to get there. If not... Well.. I guess I'll see you once I get back...'

'What? You mean you want to travel there separately? Nora, this was supposed to be sabotage. You were going to earn trust and then betray Shaun. I think it's safe to say he trusts you now if he named you as his successor.' MacCready was stunned by Nora's change to businesslike coldness.

'Yeah, well, hear me out, I've been thinking... maybe the Institute could be a force for good. With the right person at the helm.'

'The right person being you I suppose?' MacCready couldn't believe how quickly this conversation was turning into a nightmare scenario. Nora was seriously considering leading the Institute? She had clearly been influenced by Shaun to a frightening degree. 'So, where exactly do Duncan and I fit in to this future you've been planning?'

'Well, you'd live at the Institute with me of course..?' Nora at least had the decency to make it sound like a question rather than the thinly disguised assumption it so evidently was.

'Like fuck we would. Nora you cannot be serious, please tell me you are messing with me?' MacCready was all too aware Nora was in earnest, but his head was starting to hurt and this whole conversation was ridiculous. 'I tell you what, if you want me to live at the Institute let's go there now. You can introduce me to Shaun and I'll take a look around, see what all the fuss is about...Who knows, I might even like it...'

'I'm not allowed to, they made an exception in my case. We'll have to wait until I'm in charge.'

'Not allowed to??? I thought you were the fucking boss, or near as damn it. _Not allowed to_. Ashamed of me, more like.'

Nora blushed, paused. There was an inkling of truth in MacCready's angry words. The thought of taking him to the Institute to be judged by Shaun and the haughty scientists filled her with dread.

MacCready continued, his face flushed with anger, 'I can't be involved in anything that treats synths the way the Institute do. Bunker Hill was horrific. I will not condone that shit...'

Nora rallied, 'Oh so you're a synth lover now are you, why don't you go the whole hog and join the Railroad?'

'And if I did join??? Would you kill me if Shaun asked you to?'

'Don't be so stupid. Of course I wouldn't. Anymore than you would _actually_ join the Railroad.'

'So I'm stupid now am I?' 

'No, I didn't mean that... I just... Oh god Mac. Try to see it from my point of view'

'Jesus Nora. Shaun really did a number on you. In fact, are you even the real Nora or some fucking synth imposter?'

'Now you really are being stupid. Look Mac, I'm going to pack my stuff and teleport back to the Institute. I'll see you at Mass Fusion in 3 days. If you want to. If not.. Well we'll talk when you've calmed down after I return' 

'I'm fucking calm now'.... MacCready slammed his fist down on the ramshackle table, smashing it to to smithereens. 

Nora looked sadly at MacCready. 'Yes of course, you're perfectly calm, I see that...' She kissed him softly on the cheek and with an undignified scramble extricated herself from the sniper's den and disappeared down the ladder. 'I'll see you at Mass Fusion in 3 days'. She blew him a kiss as she vanished from view. 

MacCready sat stunned. What the fuck just happened? He felt anger, confusion, sorrow and outrage flowing through him all at the same time. Was that even possible? Evidently not as he felt nausea rise in him. He really should go after Nora but his legs refused to cooperate. He felt barely able to stand up, let alone negotiate his way down a rickety old ladder. She was going to go. As soon as she'd got her bits and pieces she'd be gone. He'd next see her at Mass Fusion. _If he went._ Oh shit, no point even fooling himself. Of course he was going to fucking go. He slumped in the chair, ears listening for the sound of Nora's teleport exit. His eyes fell on the crumpled lab coat, the Institute logo peeping out through the soiled folds of fabric. He ground his heel into the logo. Those bastards had ruined everything. Fuck the Institute. Fuck Shaun....

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> **Any comments gratefully received***  
> My tumblr is : [thebanquosghost](http://thebanquosghost.tumblr.com/tagged/fanfic)  
> thanks to @deichqueen for the title suggestion.


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